Aaron's point around "building simple software takes vision and discipline" really resonates with me. I've seen countless enterprise software tools that are overcomplicated and cluttered with too many features, doing most poorly.
"Take MySQL, who redefined the database market by offering a simpler database for every developer in the world. They now own a huge chunk of the market without having to compete with Oracle in the process."
Errr... Who owns MySQL? With little gems like that I'd really question the author's ability to research his content, which would cause me to question the validity of his position.
Sorry to be a grumpy old fart about this article but it reeks of "I'm pimpin' my company on Techcrunch!" Start with a valid (in fact, valuable) assertion about simplicity in the enterprise. But follow it up with what?
>>>Look throughout your organization and find the areas where employees spend a disproportionate amount of time or run into problems on a specific set of tasks. Enabling technologies in these areas will pay huge dividends for your organization.
This is approximately like telling me that if I want to be in the Hall of Fame all I have to do is get 4 hits every 10 times out of bat. 40%! How hard can that be?
EDIT - I am grumpy because I own a business and beating simplicity into business processes is harder than getting my 6th grader to do homework.
[+] [-] jsatok|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] fiveo|15 years ago|reply
For me, as a software developer, discipline means TDD, repeatable process to write code (no, it doesn't mean we should throw-away creativity).
[+] [-] _b8r0|15 years ago|reply
"Take MySQL, who redefined the database market by offering a simpler database for every developer in the world. They now own a huge chunk of the market without having to compete with Oracle in the process."
Errr... Who owns MySQL? With little gems like that I'd really question the author's ability to research his content, which would cause me to question the validity of his position.
[+] [-] philiphodgen|15 years ago|reply
>>>Look throughout your organization and find the areas where employees spend a disproportionate amount of time or run into problems on a specific set of tasks. Enabling technologies in these areas will pay huge dividends for your organization.
This is approximately like telling me that if I want to be in the Hall of Fame all I have to do is get 4 hits every 10 times out of bat. 40%! How hard can that be?
EDIT - I am grumpy because I own a business and beating simplicity into business processes is harder than getting my 6th grader to do homework.